Republican lawmakers urged President George W. Bush on Sunday to release records of White House contacts with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the center of a mushrooming probe into influence peddling. But the White House stood firm that the records, including photographs of Bush with Abramoff, are irrelevant, and that federal prosecutors have not even asked for them.In making the case for disclosure, Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record), a Nebraska Republican, said, "Get it out.""Why give -- if you want to talk about it in strict political terms -- why give the Democrats an opportunity, or the press to keep this story going?" Hagel told ABC's television show "This Week.""Absolutely," Mike Pence, an Indiana Republican, told "Fox News Sunday" when asked if records should be released.... http://news.yahoo.com

Car bombs have exploded outside the Vatican embassy and near four churches in Iraq, killing at least three people. The apparently co-ordinated attacks took place within 20 minutes of each other, Iraqi police said. Three of the bombs went off in the capital Baghdad, while a further two were detonated in the northern oil city of Kirkuk. All the fatalities reported were in Kirkuk, while at least nine people were wounded in the blasts. In Kirkuk, three civilians were killed and one wounded in the attack on the Church of the Virgin, and six civilians were hurt in the blast outside an Orthodox church. Both explosives-packed vehicles were detonated by remote control, according to a police spokesman. In Baghdad, car bombs exploded outside St Joseph's Catholic church in the suburb of Sina'a and an Anglican church in the eastern Nidhal area. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4660104.stm

Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso has called for Emperor Akihito to visit a controversial war shrine - a move that could enrage China and South Korea. The Yasukuni shrine, which honours 2.5m war dead, has been avoided by Japanese emperors ever since 14 top World War II criminals were enshrined there in 1978. China cancelled a bilateral summit last month because of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits. Mr Aso is seen as a contender to succeed Mr Koizumi when his term ends. He believes Emperor Akihito should visit the Tokyo shrine because those who died in wars did so in honour of their emperor. Mr Aso is reported as saying in a speech in the central Japanese city of Nagoya: "From the viewpoint of the spirits of the war dead, they hailed 'Banzai' ['long life'] for the emperor. None of them said, 'Long live the prime minister'. "A visit by the emperor would be the best." ...http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40921000/jpg/_40921098_shrine-body203.jpg

France is drafting 400 troops to help fight a mosquito-borne virus spreading on its Indian Ocean island of Reunion. The troops, already stationed on the island, will join more than 1,500 people already engaged in the campaign to eradicate mosquitoes. Some 30,000 islanders have been hit by the Chikungunya virus since March, and officials say thousands of new cases are emerging every week. The virus causes muscle pain and fever but is usually not life-threatening. There is no known vaccine to fight it. Officials said the troops would be spraying the whole island against mosquitoes in the coming days. The latest outbreak was first noticed there in February 2005. French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has asked Health Minister Xavier Bertrand to fly to Reunion by Monday....http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4658982.stm

Top American TV journalist Bob Woodruff and his cameraman have been seriously wounded in a bomb attack in Iraq. ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and camera operator Doug Vogt were travelling with an Iraqi army unit near Taji, north of the capital Baghdad. The blast was reportedly caused by a 'improvised explosive device', a common tactic aimed at US army vehicles. The men are being treated at an American military hospital, according to an ABC statement. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4659972.stm

Around 20 armed men stormed the headquarters of a South Korean oil services company in Nigeria's lawless delta and stole more than $300,000, police said on Sunday.It was the latest attack on foreign firms in Nigeria's oil producing region.Police said the group arrived by speed boat and forced their way into the compound of Daewoo Nigeria Limited, a unit of South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co Ltd, on Saturday before escaping with more than $300,000 into the delta's maze of tidal creeks.There were no casualties. Police are investigating whether the attack was the work of ethnic Ijaw militants who abducted four foreign oil workers 18 days ago and have crippled a tenth of Nigeria's production in a six-week campaign of violence."We are still investigating this attack because the circumstances surrounding it is still not clear," Ireju Barasua, spokeswoman for Rivers State police, said....http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/01/29/nigeria.attack.reut/index.html?section=cnn_world